After serving as a coach on the Troy football staff for 12 years in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, Wayne Bolt departed the city of Troy and embarked on a coaching journey across the nation. Now, the 35-year coaching veteran has returned to the university and will serve as Troy’s defensive coordinator. Bolt comes back to Troy after making coaching and administrative stops in Auburn, Clemson, Iowa State and UAB. He will replace Jeremy Rowell as Troy’s defensive coordinator after serving as the director of football relations at Auburn. Rowell has been presented with the opportunity to stay with the Troy Athletics Department in a football operations role. Bolt joined Gene Chizik at Iowa State in 2007 where he coached the Cyclone linebackers in addition to serving as the defensive coordinator for two seasons. He then moved on to Auburn with Chizik prior to the 2009 season where he was part of the Tigers’ 2010 BCS National Championship team. Twenty former players under Bolt have gone on to play in the NFL, including Troy’s own DeMarcus Ware and Osi Umenyiora. His initial stem with the Trojans spanned from 1991 to 2002 where he coached the offensive line in his first six seasons, before being named defensive coordinator and assistant head coach in 1997. During Troy’s years under Bolt, the defense dominated in the Southland Conference and as an FBS Independent. The 2002 unit finished the year fourth in the nation in total defense (276.8) and 13th against the run (105.3). The Trojans allowed less than 110 yards rushing per game and just over 290 yards of total offense per contest in Bolt’s 67 games as a coordinator. Under his direction, Troy dominated the Southland Conference each year from 1997-2000. During that span, the defense ranked no lower than second in the conference in scoring defense, rushing defense and total defense. Under the legendary Pat Dye, Bolt was an All-American offensive lineman at East Carolina. He then coached on Dye’s staff at Wyoming and at Auburn, where the Tigers played in the Sugar and Cotton Bowls among four bowl appearances and won an SEC title. His time at Clemson included three Atlantic Coast Conference titles and four bowl game appearances. His other in-state affiliations include serving as the defensive coordinator at UAB from 2003 to 2005, where he coached the Blazers to their only bowl appearance in school history, the 2004 Hawaii Bowl.
Staff Writer
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